Notes

Harold Christian refers to the father of William James Christian asPeter Christian (Jenkins Family History, p 8). Other facts indicatethat this is William Peter Christian, father of Daniel Zene Christian.

William James Christian is referred to as Bill by various familymembers in various written references. In the censuses of 1880 and1900 he is listed as Willie.

The age of William in the 1860 census matches "John" in 1850. Williamis 10 years old, making him born abt 1850.

I considered that "John" could be a mis-write by the enumerator forJames, for William James. Worse things have happened. Joseph SanfordJenkins was reported as John Jinkins in the 1860 Cass County, Texas,census. Though William's age of 10 matches John, 3 months old in 1850(thus born in June 1850), William is strangely recorded as 15 yearsold in 1870.

On the other hand, Harold Christian reports that there is a birth daterecorded for William in his family bible: Based on information fromWilliam's family Bible, he was born 20 November 1853. It is probablysafer to accept this as an accurate birth date, and attribute error tothe various censuses, which are often erroneous. And then we shouldconsider John as a child who died between the 1850 and 1860 census, asHarold did in his analysis.

In 1880, I find that Willie, not yet married, is living with a familynamed Brock, next door to a family that appears to be that of hisbrother Daniel Zene, where their younger half brother Henry is livingafter the death of his parents. Polly likely died in 1870 or soonafter, and father Peter died in 1874, after moving to Cass County nearthe sons.

Willie either is working for the Brock family on their farm or isfarming a section of their land as his own. His occupation is shownas "Farming," not "Farmer," "Farm Labor" or "Laborer."

The last son of Polly, 9-year-old Peter (born in September 1870,possibly the occasion of Polly's death) is living with brother Bartand his family a couple of doors down from Zene. In between the twobrothers is a family named Cowan, Robert and Sarah and their children.

Willie, later referred to by family members as Bill, though recordedin censuses as Willie, married Lucinda Amanda Jenkins. She isreferred to as Amanda Lucinda in some sources. Amanda (Mandy) was thedaughter of Joseph Sanford Jenkins, born in South Carolina, butmarried in Mississippi, where Amanda was born before the family movedon to Cass County, Texas. Their story is told in this genealogy.

Bill, or Willie, and Amanda moved from Cass County, Texas, toChickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, about 1891. Their child Iler wasthe last one born in Texas in about August 1890. The next childCharles (recorded in 1900 as Henry C) was born in Chickasaw Nation inMay 1892. The next two children were also born in Chickasaw Nation,then Susan Annie was born after they had moved to Oklahoma Territoryin about May 1900.

Since the 1890 census was destroyed by fire, we are missing somedetails on the family that would fill out their story as the 19thcentury ends. In 1900 they are enumerated living in Washita County ofOklahoma Territory. This county had been formed as a new county onlyearlier that year, from what was formerly Cheyenne and Arapaho lands.This new county bordered Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, to theeast. If the reports of birth of their children in Chickasaw Nationare correct here, they moved across the border into Washita Countyaround the time the county was established in Oklahoma Territory.

In the 1900 census for Union Township, Washita County, OklahomaTerritory, there are many anomalies, as ages don't always match thebirth dates reported, birth dates found here don't match those infamily sources, names are spelled oddly, and handwriting is poor. Thefamily name is spelled Christain, Pete is spelled Peet. W's look likea cross between M's and B's, E's are often closed and look like I'sexcept they are not dotted. Capital P's are linked to the followingvowel, making them look somewhat like R's with a long stem.

For the last child, if Annie, the birth date written in the census ishard to understand. It is somewhat messy, and might be May 1898 or1897. But it could not be May 1898, if Robert's birthday was only 7months before in March 1898. If it was May 1900, that would make itthree months, matching Annie's birthday as 17 May 1900 from a list ina family source. But the age written is not 3/12. It is a large 3,with two or more lines, somewhat straight after the three, and oneslightly slanting under the 3, but no number after or under any of themessy lines.

All the children are listed as farmers, also; even Susa, the baby.Note also that the enumerator erroneously lists the father of all thechildren as born in England, when Willie was born in Mississippi. Itwas Willie's father that was born in England.

Note that the child I list as M N Christian does not appear in thecensus. This name comes from a list of the children of this familyfound in the dictionary of Amanda's brother William (Bud) Jenkins, whowrote various memorabilia in his dictionary like a diary. This is theonly record I have seen of the child M N. The census indicates thatMandy had borne 10 children, but only 8 are living. This M N, whoshould have been 16 at this census, must be one of the two who died.I do not have the name of the other one.

I notice that in this census, Amanda has aged 15 years in the lastten! She was 45 in 1910, and now she is 60 in 1920. And Henry is nowolder than Robert. In 1910 Robert was 13 and Henry was only 8. Butnow in 1920, Henry is 23; he has aged 15 years since the last census,just like his mother. Meanwhile Robert Lee is only 21, having agedonly 8 years since the last census! What fun these censuses are.

W J and his wife are buried at the Oakdale Cemetery. The town ofOakdale is no longer operative, but the cemetery is maintained. Onecompiler of a memorial on Find a Grave reports Oakdale as in Cowden,Washita County, Oklahoma. But Cowden is quite a ways away, and thereare other cemeteries between them.

"Jay and Jan Davis live in old Oakdale school. A few people, stilllive close to the old Oakdale cemetery. There is not much to seeexcept the Washita River, the Oakdale Cemetery, which is stillmaintained. Two miles North of the Town of Mountain View on OklahomaState Highway 115. REMAINS: School House, cemetery The town wasprobably abandoned when the school was annexed to Mountain View. Thecemetery has graves going back to before 1900."-- Dawn Evans Rogers, Ghost Towns,http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ok/oakdale.html